KODACHROME
() N.G.S.
Russian researchers
on the peninsula
FONT of scientific information, Antarctica also
breeds goodwill. Formal protocol and inter
national boundaries do not exist; men freely visit
stations of other countries. Such was the tone
and hope of the Antarctic Treaty, in which all
signers agreed to forgo territorial claims to the
continent for at least 30 years.
A scientific team debarks from the Russian
research vessel Professor Viese (above) at Bel
lingshausen Station. The author found the 407
foot Viese "like an ocean liner-comfortable and
spacious," accommodating the 200 scientists and
technicians manning her computer center and
many laboratories. Using rockets to probe the
648
skies 60 miles up, she and a sister ship increas
ingly roam Antarctic waters for research.
Bellingshausen carries the name of a Russian
explorer who in 1821 became first to sight land
within the Antarctic Circle. At the station, scien
tists taking a chess break are watched by por
traits of famous players in the game of history
-from
left, Marx, Lenin, and Engels (right,
above). The "100" in the upper left corner sa
lutes the centennial of Lenin's birth. The count
down calendar at upper right promises the an
nual shipment of food and new faces in four days.
Until then, time crawls. The cook (right) cre
ates a morale booster-fresh-baked bread.
And then the day arrives! The Viese anchors
with a team of scientists, including a comely
oceanographer (far right) who will spend the
summer analyzing seawater.